The invention relates to a coiling device for a cord or other cordage material, and more particularly to a coiling device of the type having a housing that can be put together from two half housing shells and having a coiling shaft that is rotatably supported in the housing.
With cordage material, there is often the problem that the desired, prescribed length deviates from the existing actual length of the cordage material. The term "cordage material" may refer to any conceivable forms of cordage material, in particular yarn, rope, lines, cords, electric cables, cables in general, hoses, and so forth, made of any conceivable material. Electric cables in particular, have the familiar problem that the actual length may differ from the prescribed length. For instance, the length of connecting cables between telephone handsets and the associated wall jacks is standardized. The length of connection cables for computer peripherals or stereo systems is also standardized. If the entire standardized length is not needed for connecting the peripheral, then the cable usually simply lies around, rolled up in a more or less orderly way. Especially with central control units such as the central processing unit of a personal computer or the tuner of a stereo system, a number of different cables must often be connected. These are usually too long and are simply stuffed behind the unit. The cables usually become entangled with one another, making a so-called "cable salad" behind the unit. If one line has to be removed or replaced afterward, then all the cables have to be untangled first, and the right cable has to be looked for. This is not only very time-consuming but also often requires great patience.
Even with only temporarily set-up equipment, the actual length of the power and control cables often differs from the required prescribed length. This can lead in turn to the aforementioned disorder among the various cables. There is also the danger that innocent passersby may trip on overly long cables that are lying around and may injure themselves seriously. Aside from possible damage to the interconnected technical equipment, this snarelike effect also entails the risk of injury to the person who trips, as well as a liability risk for the system operator.
For shortening the cordage material from its actual length to a desired prescribed length, a coiling device for cordage material is known from EP 180 883. In this coiler, a rotatable coiling shaft is rotatably supported between the ends of a housing drum. The coiling shaft is provided with a restoring spring that drives it to rotate and that acts with its spring force upon the coiling shaft. Because of the spring force acting upon the coiling shaft, the coiling shaft rotates and coils the cordage material up on itself. One disadvantage of this device is its complex assembly. The cordage material first has to be threaded onto the coiling shaft, and in a further operation, the housing has to be firmly closed in a complicated way.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,865,071 discloses another winding device, in which the winding shaft is molded onto a housing part. The winding shaft comprises two spring arms and forms a snap closure with a further housing drum that can be slipped onto it. With this device as well, the cordage material must first be threaded into the winding shaft, and the entering or leaving cord must be threaded into the associated openings of the housing drum, before the housing drum can be securely locked into place. There is also the danger in this device that the resultant cordage winding may not distribute itself uniformly over the entire axial length of the winding shaft, but that instead a cord winding of large diameter may form very rapidly at one point, so that the full holding capacity of the device cannot be used.